The present invention relates to a fastener for shoelaces and the like, especially those used for children's shoes. Shoelaces tied in conventional bows are subject to loosening with the result that the shoe may become untied. This may cause a misstep or even a fall. Loosened shoe laces are also a nuisance while walking; frequent stops for retying become annoying for the wearer. The present invention is a simple, low cost device for securing the laces to keep the shoe tied tightly with provision of room for excess lace length without the need for tying a conventional bow.
The problem of maintaining shoelace tension has been recognized in the prior art. Adams (U.S. Pat. No. 31052) for example provides parallel disks into which the laces fit. A serrated plug is pushed into the space between the disks and bears on the laces to hold them under tension. Udelhofer (U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,590) teaches a flat body which holds two laces or cords. A toothed plate is forced into the body to prevent the laces from sliding with respect to one another. The holding plugs of these inventions can be lost and must be carefully stored when the shoes are removed. Herlau (U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,173) describes a pair of disks having teeth on their inner surfaces. When the laces are introduced, the teeth act on them to prevent back slipping. Boden (U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,575) employs a single disk to which a serrated lever is pivotably attached. A pair of laces is passed through the disk, tensioned and held in place by turning the lever so that the serrations engage the laces. Rob (U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,725) teaches a rectangular form perforated to accommodate two laces. The form is placed between tongue and vamp of the shoe and held in place by pressure of the wearer's foot. The excess lace lengths are then passed into a plate which is attached to the form by a sliding mechanism. Spring loaded, serrated devices are described by Rio (U.S. Pat. No. 2,200,895) and Gartmann (French 752,922).
All of the prior art employs relatively elaborate locking devices which are expensive to fabricate and in some cases difficult to use. The present invention is made up of only two, simple-to-produce parts, is readily applied to shoes and easily manipulated for tightening and loosening.